The union representing Ontario Provincial Police said it had “no choice” but to release attack ads against Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak and his proposed policies but buckled under increasing public and internal pressure to distance itself from the provincial police force Monday.

The 15-second ads attacking Hudak, which also began airing on television on Monday morning and were slated to air in some markets until June 10 in advance of the June 12 provincial election, were quietly taken down from the Ontario Provincial Police Association’s YouTube channel Monday afternoon. Just hours earlier, a press release announcing the ads and the union’s anti-Hudak position was issued. But, by work day’s end, the ads resurfaced with one minor but significant audio edit: Voiceovers declaring “We’re the OPP,” in both videos, had been changed to “We’re the OPPA.”

What was initially reported as being the result of “technical issues” by the OPPA’s Twitter account was later revealed to be a deliberate attempt to clarify the language, OPPA president Jim Christie said.

“We heard some confusing responses from the public and some members about the differentiation between OPPA and OPP so erred on the side of caution,” Christie said.

While many have questioned whether the association’s move was irresponsible, Christie maintained that it would have been irresponsible not to have taken a position.

“Our association is politically active 365 days a year,” Christie said, highlighting again the difference between the Ontario Provincial Police proper and the labour organization that he heads. The association has been donating money to all three major parties for years, advocates for legislation, and regularly meets with MPPs.

It’s a distinction the ads didn’t initially convey until they were edited, and one the OPP and PCs also wanted clarified.

The provincial force issued a news release early Monday evening unequivocally stating that “it does not, in any way, support this OPPA campaign.”

“As part of the greater Ontario government, the OPP does not participate in or offer any opinions or positions regarding elections and politics,” the statement went on. “The advertisements related to the current provincial election were produced and paid for by OPPA and are not in any way supported by the Ontario Provincial Police.”

Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod said she was “confused” when she first saw one of the ads.

“The OPP should be an impartial voice, and my hope is that they still are and that this is just some of their union flacks attacking our leader,” MacLeod said. The edited videos seems to have corrected the issue, but Macleod had called on OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes and Premier Kathleen Wynne to clarify whether they endorsed the attack ads by the OPPA.

“We work hard every day,” the voice-over begins on one ad as police cruiser lights begin flashing.

“We’re the OPPA and we’re here for you,” the narrator continues in the edited version as the OPPA logo appears on the screen expressly stating that the ad represents the view of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, which represents 9,000 provincial employees across Ontario, including 6,000 officers. “Who’s Tim Hudak here for?”

In the initial news release, Christie said this was the first time in its 60-year history the union had weighed in with a public campaign on a provincial election campaign.

“A Tim Hudak led government would launch a direct assault on the Collective Agreements of Police Associations right across the Province,” Christie added. “His positions on arbitration, public sector pensions and further wage freezes, among others issues, are unacceptable to our members who put their lives on the line for their communities every day.”

MacLeod, however, said the ads were nothing more than posturing from a union that has benefitted from a Liberal government.

“This is a union. Tim Hudak will be premier for all Ontarians. We’re not concerned that unions are angry. They have for far too long been so cosy with this Liberal government that the spending in this province has gotten away from us,” she said.

Further complicating the ads is that the Liberal government is under two OPP investigations, MacLeod said — one involving ORNGE air ambulance and a second surrounding the gas plants scandal. Attacking the proposed policies of one candidate while investigating the alleged actions of a government now run by another doesn’t sit well with Macleod or her party. Current chief administrative officer of the OPPA Karl Walsh is also a former provincial Liberal candidate who ran in Barrie in 2011. In response, Christie once again pointed to the differences in his job and that of OPP Commissioner Hawkes, who is the one responsible for the operations of the police force including investigations.

Christie said the ads shouldn’t be viewed as an endorsement of Liberal or NDP candidates, nor should the association be seen as anti-Conservative. The opposition is to Hudak alone and his “divisive ‘Tea Party’ style politics.” Christie also called Hudak’s million-jobs plan an “illogical” promise.

“We just don’t want this Conservative as Premier.”

MacLeod fired back saying that the PC plan is to “get the size and scope of government under control” through a balanced budget. She stood by the party’s positions: to look at arbitration reform in Ontario and a two-year, provincewide wage freeze for the broader public service.

Police salaries have been a hot-button issue in the province and among police unions and police boards, with several municipalities calling on arbitration reform to control the ballooning costs of policing and put an end to comparative-style collective bargaining in a province where crime levels are on the downtrend.

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